Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart shared what he felt when he was separated from his family and isolated within the confines of a hotel room in Walt Disney World:
“I was totally ready for it to suck, I’m not gonna lie. But you know what? The bubble, it actually turned out to be … pretty damn great,” he said via The Players' Tribune.
For Marcus Smart, he was able to spend some downtime for himself and put all the non-basketball things aside for the meantime. He also had the chance to take things into perspective including the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which started with a text from the Celtics' team physician in the aftermath of the league shutdown:
“I felt fine, though, so I was completely confident that I would beat the virus. I wasn’t scared. I was ready for it. What I wasn’t ready for was … our doctor calling me up and telling me that I was the only damn person on the whole team who tested positive.”
Not only Smart, but also his 74-year old father also contracted the virus and immediately called him up telling him that his test came out to be positive. Not only the pandemic but also the Black Lives Matter movement led him to think that we are indeed living in a pivotal moment in history.
“It was like, Here we are out here standing up for our rights, and at the same time there’s a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic out here killing Black and brown people at higher rates than everyone else,” he continued.
The Texas native also remarked that racial profiling was nothing new for him. He recalled moments of racial discrimination dating back to his college days which continued even when he was already in the league.
The NBA's insistence on resuming playoff action amidst a global pandemic was met with varying reactions from fans and players alike. However, those sentiments changed when the players themselves finally set foot on the Orlando bubble where the rest of the season continued.
Despite all the unfortunate incidents that he personally faced and continues to face, Smart remains hopeful for the youth and most especially, America's future. Indeed, this battle is bigger than the individual. It is about all of us and will take all of us to get over it together.
Follow Us
Subscribe